Iqaluit hunter Glenn Williams is circulating a petition in Nunavut to keep pressure on the federal government to push ahead with its plans drop the long-gun registry.

The federal government, then under the Liberals, introduced changes to the Firearms Act in 1995 that required gun owners to be licensed and registered. In the North, the registry is seen as a huge waste of money, mostly ineffective and largely unnecessary, Williams said.

"We can spend our money on more useful things like housing, social issues, all those type of things, as opposed to something that was done strictly for political appearances and just isn't functional."

He's been trying to build momentum against the Firearms Act by e-mailing a Canadian Taxpayers Federation petition to fellow hunters and gun owners. More than 40,000 people have signed the petition across Canada since it was started about four years ago.

Inuit are currently exempt from having to obtain a licence to own a firearm until a court hears a lawsuit against the federal government by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the incorporated organization that represents the Inuit.

Despite the exemption, the act continues to cause problems in the North because purchasing ammunition is not legal without a licence.

Ben Kovic, another Nunavut resident, is outraged by the requirement.

"I became a criminal because, when I go out with my sons, I buy all the ammunition for my sons. They don't have the acquisition or possession certificate for any rifle they use," he said.

Kovic said he hopes the message gets through to MPs that people in the North are unhappy with the act.

In May 2006, months after Stephen Harper's Conservatives ousted the Liberals in the parliamentary election, the federal government  imposed a one-year amnesty on the registration of unrestricted long guns. As a result, previously licensed owners of non-restricted firearms are protected from prosecution.

In June, the Conservative government introduced legislation to to abolish the long-gun registry.

The bill would amend the Criminal Code and Firearms Act to end the registration of rifles and shotguns. The handgun registry would remain in place, as would bans on automatic and assault weapons.

The proposed legislation, Bill C-21, has passed only first reading in the House of Commons and all three opposition parties have said they support the registry remaining in place.

The gun registry as a whole was supposed to cost $2 million when it was introduced but ended up costing roughly $1 billion.